Schumer: Boehner's playing with fire

New York Democrat Chuck Schumer issued a warning to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) Monday, hours before the Republican is set to unveil his debt ceiling strategy to Wall Street executives: Don’t get “cute” with the debt ceiling. Just raise it.

“There is one standard and one standard alone for evaluating his speech [tonight],” Schumer said. “The speaker should not be cute about it… the speaker must declare that the House will act on the debt ceiling in a timely way… [and] the idea of refusing to raise the debt ceiling should be taken off the table.”

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Schumer added that markets might begin to destabilize by mid-July if Congress doesn’t act. “This is playing with fire.”

The Democrats’ messaging man also called the vote “a litmus test” for House Republicans, who have been pulled to the right by a new class of conservative freshmen.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said that the federal government will hit the approximate $14 trillion debt limit this month, but that a series of emergency maneuvers — such as slowing down the sale of long-term government bonds, swapping regular debt for securities and taking funds from employment trusts and entitlement programs — can keep the government from defaulting until August 2.

Boehner is expected to push for spending cuts alongside the debt ceiling vote in his speech Monday night. The White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have endorsed caps or targets. Schumer indicated Monday he is “open” to the idea of deficit caps, as well.

In a messaging tact similar to that taken by Democrats during last month’s debate over funding the government for the rest of the year, Schumer painted Boehner as torn between political reality and the tea party wing of his caucus.

“After the elections last year, Speaker Boehner said the debt ceiling would be the first ‘adult moment’ for the new Republican majority,” Schumer said before calling on the speaker to “buck those folks in his party and rise to the occasion.”

But the talks that averted a government shutdown in early April were largely viewed as a win for the speaker, who was able to get billions of dollars in cuts. Boehner will have to maintain the same delicate balance of talking with Democrats and proving to rank-and-file members he’s strong on reducing the debt. This time, on an even bigger scale.

Schumer, in echoing top administration officials, emphasized that the seriousness of failing to raise the debt ceiling is much greater than the risk of government shutdown and could harm the “full faith and credit” of the United States and that bringing the talks to the “brink” could be just as threatening as reaching it.

The No. 3 Senate Democrat also mentioned the bipartisan, bicameral negotiations launched by Vice President Joe Biden last week, and while he was optimistic about the talks, said that a debt ceiling vote needs to happen “no matter how these talks shake out.”